


Avoidance Issues

by Featherine_Aurora



Series: Lesbian Protagonist Stories [2]
Category: FLCL, FLCL Alternative
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Child Neglect, Eventual Romance, F/F, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Friendship, Gay, Introspection, Introversion, Lesbian Character, Mental Health Issues, POV Lesbian Character, Relationship(s), Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-11-01 06:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17862263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Featherine_Aurora/pseuds/Featherine_Aurora
Summary: The world is about to end. Alone, having left her friends and awaiting the time that she and a select few will leave the Earth for Mars, Tomomi "Pets" Hetada has nothing to do but ponder what had happened to her life. There seems to be nothing left for her.But then the world does not end. Instead, she ends up returning to Earth and facing one person who will not give up on her, if she and they can still learn to change and grow together. But is that even possible?Set after episode 5 of FLCL Alternative





	1. Chapter 1

You’d think that moving to Mars would be feel awe inspiring. The same for going to Mars at all. Or going to space. The idea of going into one of the rockets waiting to launch into space ought to be something grand, something that would be dizzying to consider as something was going to actually happen. It was something many dreamed of and something so immense that even a person who never cared about going to space would feel some sort of shock at knowing that they would certainly be going into space. Yet there was none of that. For Tomomi “Pets” Hetada, it was simply what was being done in order to live. It was something she regarded with as much fascination as she might if she was simply moving away normally. What mattered was that she was to move away and never return.

That was the situation, roughly. Well, actually, everything was going to die from the rising temperatures. Everyone on Earth was doomed to perish, thanks to the giant Irons now making the earth’s temperature rise and rise, inevitably until there was not a place in the world where anyone could survive. Everyone except the elite, like her own family, who would be resettled on Mars before But she did not want to think about that. How Mossan and Hijiri were going to die. They were both going to die. So was everyone. So was Kana.

_Kana-Bun… I wish I could have avoided our last conversation. I never wanted to say those things to you. I wanted to just leave quietly._

Yes, the things she had said were things she had not wanted to say. But when feelings are held in and left to fester and be added to, with no effort to deal with them beyond repression, they were likely to be unleashed explosively. Even if she had not been in a stressful life threatening situation, Pets knew that her talking with Kana one last time to say good bye would have gone badly. Kana wouldn't have just allowed it to be like that, with Pets telling her how things were and Kana accepting it. Few people would, but Kana could be counted on to prod her nose into things that others would have the sense not to. She would have demanded to know why there was so many things Pets had not told her, why Pets was going to leave them all behind, why Pets was not acting as a best friend should and had hurt Kana by not sharing and trusting her more.

_Yes, just like she had when they had last met. Of course she’d be so selfish. I was stuck in the grasp of that weird giant monster and she’d learned about my home situation. She knew I was going to be leaving. So, naturally, she was thinking about how I had hurt her._

Pets gritted her teeth and kicked at the floor of the sterile empty room she was in with frustration. _How could someone be that self-centered? It’s always about all about Kana in the end. Always._

Pets and her family were in a facility to house the wealthy elite who were to escape the unavoidable apocalypse. It was hardly an awful place. In fact, it was a lot like home. Her parents were wealthy and were free to make demands that would or at least should be unreasonable. But her father was happy with things are they were, apart from a few things in their allocated rooms to match his traditional tastes and make him feel more comfortable. He preferred the austerity that the facility already was designed around. To respect his wishes as the head of the family, Pets and her mother were to not add unessential things to their dwelling that he would not approve of. That’s what her mother had told her. She still saw very little of her father even when there was little to do but to wait for the time to board and prepare for launch.

So, life had not changed much in that regard.

_Which is why I never talked about my home life. And maybe normal people don’t want to share certain things because those things that are too painful. Things that you just don’t talk about and that friends know to leave alone. Even best friends._ Pets was fuming now. _But it’s not like you ever asked about my home life, Kana-bun, not until it affected you. Why would I share anything when you never cared enough to ask?_

Yet would she have shared anything if Kana had asked? No, probably not. Mossan and Hijiri had been more aware than Kana would be with her myopic tendencies. But she hadn't told them anything. No, she kept the truth of her empty and cold home life to herself. Tears were welling up in eyes and started dripping down her cheeks. Even with them, she’d told lies to cover up truths she did not want to face or deal with. No one had known anything prior to her suddenly ditching school. Pets had willfully maintained a facade of normalcy. She had essentially aimed to trick people, even if she hadn't been consciously thinking of it. Should Kana have been able to tell anyway?

_Maybe? Yes? She is supposed to be my best friend._

Tears continued to flow down her face. This place was so empty, just like her empty home had been before, with her aloof and commanding father and her mother always desperate to keep him happy and maintain a harmonious household. Her mother also was happy to avoid touching on issues if it meant questioning an answer that was good enough for her peace of mind. Just like Kana.

But Pets felt like she had been happier when Kana was part of her life. She had no idea why. Yes, Kana was never a cruel or intentionally hurtful person. Her problem was emotional short-sightedness and an inability to put herself in the shoes of others. Kana hurt people because she over looked the perspectives of others and acted impulsively on her own, not because she was malicious. In fact, she was good natured and often was eager to help others. She just was not inclined to stop and think about the world outside of her own happy bubble.

But that had become insufferable. Pets had meant what she had said in their last conversation. Kana always acted impulsively and inconsiderately. She hurt her friends so readily with thoughtless acts and was always confused when they felt hurt by the way she imposed her own views and expectations on them. To be a friend to such a person and be there for them when they created messes through thoughtlessness was so tiring. It was a friendship that was emotionally draining. Kana was always focused on herself, on what felt right to her or what might make herself feel better. She was often so oblivious to the feelings of others, to how she at times used the problems of others as something to focus on rather than face her own issues. Kana was really thoughtless. To have a best friend who would never notice how Pets would force a smile and say she was fine when she wasn't at all or who was so inattentive to barely know anything about Pets beyond what was at the surface… Pets hated this. . She was so sick and tired of being Kana’s friend.

Yet Kana’s hair clip, which she had taken from an unconscious Kana after her effort at saving Pets from that monster had resulted in the monster disappearing and knocked her out, remained in her hair. Pets still had this memento to remind her of Kana. It was why she took it from Kana even after she had told Kana that she had no idea why she had ever become friends with her. Pets still wanted this along with the items she had gotten from Mossan and Hijiri. They were precious items, connected to precious friends who would never be seen again. They would be gone along with the world. Kana would be gone and that hurt to think about, even if Pets did not understand why. Why did the idea of losing this friendship hurt even if the idea of it carrying on hurts so much?

Pets had no idea how to resolve that. She didn't understand it at all. But life had provided an answer. She would run away. She would run to Mars and leave everything behind forever. That was what she was waiting for. Soon they would board the rockets and leave everything behind.

“Ha ha ha ha...”

It was hollow, this laughter, but Pets could not help laughing even as her face was still wet from her tears. She was going to run away to another planet to escape her emotional problems and have them erased behind her by the end of the world. She must be the most absurd teen ever. This was utterly ridiculous. All of this was so ridiculous. Wiping her eyes, she had but one thing to spit out bitterly in response.

“What a farce”.


	2. Chapter 2

So, this was what living on Mars will be like.

_Wow, this is so underwhelming. I would expect it to be lonely, though. It is at that. No cool space adventure for me. Just the loneliness._

That was the thought that went through Pet’s mind on this new situation.

Her room was not that much different to her old one. Sure, the old fashioned appearance was gone, in exchange for the futuristic one that the Mars facility had. But it was still just as bare. Apart from one thing, again.

Her photo of her with Kana.

It was something that Pets treasured. Maybe Kana was a selfish person. But, at the time of that photo, Kana was simply her friend. Her best friend.

_I really do miss her._

But Kana was as good as dead. Everyone on Earth was.

_I wonder how they are all doing. Kana and Mossan and Hijiri and Sasaki and.._

She continued thinking like that for a few minutes, thinking of all those she had her parents had left behind.

_But I’m just a teenager. What did any of them expect? Even if I asked to stay, I have parents. Besides, what would me staying have even done?_

No, there was nothing she could have done. Though Pets knew she had still ultimately ran away to a degree. What had happened had just given her an opportunity.

Sighing, she returned to playing a video game.

Yes, even here on Mars, it was possible to live a dull life where nothing ever happened.

But then something did happen. Something impossible.

A massive tunnel formed in space, writhing with energy. It’s bright, radiant, purple light shone to the point that it’s illumination even touched the surface of the Mars facility. This huge tunnel had ripples of violet light all along it, the raw energy of the tunnel flowing outwards in that way from it’s core. But the main thing that drew everyone’s attention was it’s mouth. It was like a black hole, warping and distorting all of the space around it, it’s devouring edges making ripples in the pitch black void of space.

It was something that dominated the minds of those who gazed upon it with the sheer idea of it’s existence.

Then one thing occurred to all of those looking at it, something that managed to enter their minds even with how completely overwhelming this sight was.

This colossal tunnel of spiraling writhing energies was pointed at the Earth.

Everyone was absolutely shocked to the cores of their beings. After everything, something like this was happening. How? How could this thing exist? Why must it? Why, after they had been forced to completely flee the planet? Why? Why? Why?

Those like Pets had another shock once they realised that it was above a very specific part of the Earth. Japan. It was such a silly thing, maybe. Something like this would probably affect the entire planet. But the fact that it was aimed directly at their home triggered an immediate sense of overwhelming horror. It was like some cosmic force had sentenced all that they cared about to death.

But, in an instant, this utterly bizarre anomaly vanished completely. To be precise, it’s mouth seemed to compress and then suddenly explode, anything it’s grasp shot to parts unknown at speeds incomprehensible by any normal person.

All was suddenly exactly as it had been before, without a single trace to indicate that the tunnel had ever existed.

Then, after a period of time that felt like forever, they got a message from Earth. The threat was gone. It was over.

 

* * *

 

  
After that, there was a slow process of returning those on the Mars base to Earth. Those there had hardly made many friends by their actions, but it was hardly possible to just leave them there. It took a lot of effort and resources, but the wealthy elite who had fled started trickling back into their communities. So, Pets and her family were eventually returned to their home town. Personally, Pets would have preferred to have moved anywhere else but there. But, again, it was her parents choice. They wanted to get back to their lives as they had been before all this had happened. Others might be more inclined to not return to a place and people they abandoned. But her father had no interest in that. He wanted things to be back as he wanted. Mum, as always, gave her resigned agreement to his wish.

So, all Pets could do was go along with it.

Unlike her father, she dreaded this. She could guess what the reaction of anyone they had known would be to them. But her father would be a bit protected by his wealth and status. Pets on other hand had long kept the fact that her parents were wealthy a secret, it only becoming more than a rumour to others once she had briefly run off on that last day she had seen her friends. If anything, she was sure her parents wealth and status would add to the animosity that some would surely feel towards her. After all, it meant she was part of the group who had run off to save their own skins when everyone was in trouble.

Avoiding everyone was the obvious preference and being rich did give her an option, at least for a bit. Namely, she used the stress of everything as a tool to convince her parents that maybe she should receive tuition at home instead. Pets knew that the tutor would a much different experience from a regular school teacher. She also knew that her parents would expect it to only be a temporary thing until she was ready to go back to school like a normal girl.

It was still worth it and, with a lot of effort, she succeeded in getting it. It was, as she had expected, something that was meant to be only temporary. But she had managed to obtain that reprieve.

Still, Pets needed to go out from time to time. There were things she simply had to go out to do. Plus, spending all her time with her parents would be unbearable. Unfortunately, there was a risk to this. A risk that came to pass one day when Pets turned a corner one day while out and walked into a person. What that unfortunate person was holding was knocked to the floor with a clatter, while Pets herself was knocked to the floor and a familiar voice rang out with irritation.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”. That voice gave off a sigh. “Well, at least some of that food should still be okay. Are you okay… huh? Pets?”

“Oh, hi, Mossan”.

 

* * *

 

  
There was silence.

Then more silence.

Then more…

“How are you here?”

Okay, there no more silence.

“When did you get here? Why are you...” Mossan paused and gave a few deep breaths. Then she continued.

“So, you’re back?”

Pets nodded. She then got to her feet. She at first tried to look at Mossan, but sheer discomfort pushed her head down until she was gazing at a spot on the ground.

“How long?”

“Huh?”

“How long are you going to be around?”

“Permanently”

“Really?”

“Yes”.

Mossan looked like she did not believe that.

“I can understand why you did what you did, Pets. Everyone thought the world was about to end. Plus, as much as I like Kana, she does have her problems. That was definitely not a good time to bring up issues with how your friendship was, when you were in the grasp of a giant monster. Plus, I’ve heard from her that your home situation is bad and I can understand how that could affect you. But, still, it hurt a lot, you know. You left us all without even saying goodbye when we all could have died. I wish I could say I can just look past that, but I don’t know if I can. I want to think I can, but it’s just too big a thing, you know”.

She looked, well, sympathetic. Astonishingly so. The same could be said of her voice. Apart from traces of weariness, there was nothing close to anger there. Instead, Mossan was just sad. Understandably so. Pets had given herself reasons for why she had done what she had in the way she had done them. But, looking at her friend, those good reasons felt hollow.

“Yeah, I know”.

“It’ll take a long time for any of us to try and move forward, to try and put this behind us. In fact, we might never do so fully. I’ll do my best. I mean, if you’re going to be around, it’ll be a problem if I don’t. But, honestly, you probably should not be optimistic”.

Pets could feel tears start to well up in her eyes. But she held them back.

“Yes, I know”.

She was trying to hold back her tears. She was trying so hard. But she was starting to fail. It was like there was something inside herself that was leaking out of her, something that was shattering her wall of normalcy from the inside. Something that was pouring through the cracks in it and making her cheeks wet. She knew what is was, but all she could consciously form that understanding into was a single though.

_I really am an awful friend, an awful person._

Mossan sighed and rubbed her brow. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. Either of you, some days”.

“Huh?”

“You know, Kana was just as much of a mess when you left. You leaving hurt her a lot. She does care a lot about her friends, even if she chooses some stupid ways to show it some times. You mattered a lot to her. You still do, honestly. I mean, the two of you were best friends”.

“Best friends. Right… ”

Had they really been that? Had they even been friends? It was so long since Pets had been able to feel sure about that.

Mossan raised her eyebrows, but carried on speaking after Pets

“It took a lot for her to start getting past that. In fact, it involved the… um.. space tunnel”.

_Wait, what?_

It clicked in her head. Kana had been the centre of a number of really weird things before Pets had left the Earth. In fact, the last time they had met, Kana had somehow sucked a giant monster into her own head. But still, Pets felt compelled to ask that one question.

“How?”

The response to this was Mossan frowning at her.

“Are you really asking me about this bizarre stuff? To explain how a teenage girl suddenly starts having monsters crawl out of her head or gains the ability to create magic space tunnels by confessing she loves someone?”

“…..”

Pets had been the quiet one of the group. It was not odd for her to say much. This time though, her silence was due to the full force of how bizarre it all was hitting her at once. She’d honestly just done her best to avoid thinking about it. That was not that hard when she had her own problems to focus on. Plus, it was hardly like Pets could do anything about this stuff. So, it had become simply part of the background. Just as going to Mars had. It was a bit disturbing to actually consider how much bizarre stuff had happened to them. It was also a bit disturbing to consider the degree to which she had mentally put all of it into a compartment and not thought about it at all.

“Kana made a confession of love? So, she’s finally confessed to Sasaki?”

“No”. For a moment, Mossan looked really unsure for some reason. Then that reason was made clear. “Kana declared she loved you”.

It was amazing how the relatively little things in life could stun a person even as they adjusted to all sorts of things. Pets could definitely attest to that, especially at this moment.

In fact, she had been shocked to the point of being completely immobile.

“Pets, are you okay?”

“No”

This was declared in a completely flat tone.

“Oh. Well, I have to go”

“Okay, bye”.

Mossan left and Pets just stood there. After a minute, Mossan reappeared. “Are you going to just stand there?”

“Maybe. I don’t think I can move”.

Mossan let out another sigh, went up to Pets to grab her hand and then pulled her away from where she was standing. She then set about at dragging Pets away.


	3. Chapter 3

_I have no idea what to do._

Pets sighed and looked up at the sky. It was a blue sky, with few clouds. It was calming. Unfortunately, she had so much to think about. Too much for her to just relax under that sky. Her troubled mind would not do that.

_Kana made a confession of love and it was of love for me. How do I respond to that? The last thing we talked about was how I don’t even know why we became friends in the first place. Now I need to deal with the idea that she loves me._

It was an idea Pets had no idea how to even approach mentally.

_Am I even capable of being interested in girls that way? I don’t know. I don’t think I am. But I’ve never thought about it._

“Look, why are you telling me all this?”

Pets looked to see a person looking back at her, clearly confused. She was waiting by a convenience store for Mossan. She had been alone. That had apparently changed at some point.

“Who even are you? Who’s Kana? Why are you asking me about whether you’re interested in girls? I’m just standing here and you ask me that. Who even asks strangers stuff like that?”

“I… uh, sorry. I was just thinking out loud. I didn’t know you were there”.

The person stared at her and then walked away. Mossan at that time walked out of the shop Pets had been standing in front of, holding two bags filled with various snacks. She walked out just in time to see the person walking away from Pets, muttering in an annoyed tone about strange teenagers.

“I see you’re already working on your social skills. But the aim should be to make to make people like you, not to annoy them”.

“I know that, Mossan. I’m just a bit stressed”.

Mossan gestured in the direction the person had taken. They were no longer visible. “What happened with him?”

“I .. started talking out loud without realizing it”.

“Really?”

“Yes”. Pets blushed.

“Wow. I guess everything really is getting to you”.

This was really embarrassing.

“Maybe it is”.

Mossan reached out and placed a hand on Pet’s shoulder. “Well, I’m here for you. Okay, I’ll be a bit distracted by my jobs and my fashion projects, but I’ll be there for you as much as I can be”.

“Thanks”.

“Just a moment”. Mossan reached into one of her bags and pulled out a packet. She offered it to Pets. “You still like these, right?”

“Yes, thanks”. Pets really had no interest in going back home until she needed to. She was actually a bit hungry. Fortunately, Mossan was always willing to share some of the piles of snacks she tended to buy with her friends. The two of them then started walking together. They’d do that until their paths split. Mossan would then carry on to her home. Pets would dawdle for a bit, then carry on the way to her own home. That would be some time from now. At the moment, she would just make the most of her time with Mossan.

“So, what’s the next step with your plan to become a fashion designer?”

“Hmm? Well, in spite of how that fashion show you all helped me with went, enough people saw my designs that I managed to impress some people. I might be able to get an internship after high school”.

“That’s great!”. Pets was glad to hear that. Mossan had put so much into her creations, in trying to make her dream possible while helping her family out. It was great that she would be able to continue to pursue her dream.

“What about you, Pets? What’s your plan for after high school?”

Honestly, that was not something she felt she had much choice in. Ultimately, it needed to be something her father would approve of.

“You do have a plan, right?”

“Of course. My parents would be upset if I didn’t”.

“Ah”. Mossan looked uncomfortable. Well, she knew of Pet’s home situation from Kana, most likely. In the past, lies were enough to avoid these sort of situations. But now all her friends likely knew enough to see through any lies.

“I’ve got good enough grades to try for one of those advanced study courses they were promoting when we started high school. My parents should be happy with that and it sounds like it might be interesting”.

“It could be. But I didn’t think we still had something like that in this town”.

She’d managed to stumble from one awkward point into another.

_Well done, Pets._

“There wasn’t”.

“How did you get into it then?”. Mossan frowned. “Never mind”. Pets guessed that Mossan had realised the answer, but was unwilling to go further with it. She had needed to struggle to achieve her dream while helping her family, while Pets had her parent’s considerable fortune to pave her path. In that regard, Pets was very lucky. But it was not that simple and Mossan likely understood that. Mossan also likely felt at least a bit bitter. Pets was getting opportunities through her parents that Mossan would never get. Instead, she needed to work to the point of nearly breaking herself for her dream.

For a moment, Pets recalled how Kana had convinced her and Hijiri to join with Kana in trying to help Mossan out with the burden she had placed on herself. At the time, it had felt really good. The three of them had dedicated themselves to helping her out.

Then Mossan made her feeling about their help known, that she wanted to achieve her dream with her own hard work and she definitely did not appreciate them butting in and taking that away from her.

_Even after that, Kana didn’t really understand what the problem was._

“Hey, Pets”.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Mossan’s voice.

“Look, it’s hard to tell what you’re thinking. In the past, me and Hijiri were content to not poke our noses into your affairs. But after what you said to Kana, your fight with her and what she told us about your home situation...”

Mossan paused, the weight of the matter clearly troubling her.

“I think we’re going to have to do more. Or at least I will. I feel I need to, otherwise something bad might happen to you”.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. I just have a feeling and, if everything that happened before you left has taught me anything, it’s that just accepting how things appear on the surface and ignoring feelings like this is a really bad idea. I need to know you’ll at least give me a hint or something”. She gestured towards Pets, while giving her a frustrated look. “Anything, please. I’m just going to worry that you’re holding back on me if you’re not honest. You aren’t helping me or yourself by lying”.

She was right. Still, it was hardly like anything could be done about her problems. Now though, Mossan and Hijiri knew enough that they’d just assume the worst if she didn’t say anything. It would be better to just share her pains and let her friends comfort and support her.

But I want to be able to get away from my problems, if only for a little bit of time. I want to at least pretend things are fine, if only while I’m with them. It’s what I’ve always wanted.

So, how could she handle these conflicting demands?

“Pets? Please, give me sort sort of answer”.

“I’ll try to share what I can. Sorry, that’s all I can promise you, Mossan”.

Her friend gave a tired smile. “As long as it’s an honest promise, that’s enough. Thank, Pets”.

But, even as she had given it, Pets herself didn’t know if it was honest or not.

 

* * *

 

  
Pets sighed and glanced at the evening sky. It was the early evening, yet the sky was already a warm shade of red.

_Mossan’s right to want more honesty. She’s not asking for much. But I don’t feel ready for that. At the same time, she’s my friend and she wants to help me. I should try to share more. But I don’t know if I’ll even be able to when I need to._

She was just sitting alone on a bench, watching the time pass by. She had nothing to do, but she still didn’t want to go home.

_I could text Mossan or Hijiri._

That was possible, but she decided she didn’t want to bother them.

_There is Kana._

Kana would likely respond even after everything that had happened. But no, Pets was definitely not ready to do that and face the aftermath of her leaving Kana. Not even through text message. It was just too much to face. So, Pets was going to carry on with her strategy of ignoring it all. Here she was, just doing her best to forget her home problems and her other problems for as long as she could. Then she’d go home and do whatever she needed to in order to keep her dad happy until sleep. Then the next day would arrive and allow her to do whatever she could away from her problems again for a while.

_What else can someone my age even do?_

Pets sighed. She’d accepted the hopelessness of her situation a long time ago. All she could do was find ways to better live with it. At the moment, that was to sit here and try to forget everything as she stared at the sky. It was made oddly easier by a painful headache that seemed to be worsening. It was bad enough that it was actually distracting her from her unwanted thoughts.

Then the monotony of town life, which Pets had been content to drown in, was broken by the sound of a vehicle screeching to a halt, followed by the sound of a familiar voice yelling “Hey there, let’s chat!”

Pets was startled by that, standing up and looking at the street to see the source. It was a pink haired woman, wearing a puffed sleeveless jacket over a red jacket. On her back, there was a bag and a guitar, both on straps over her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of goggles which she moved up from her yellow eyes, before getting off a yellow vespa. She knew who this was instantly

“Haruko?!”

Why was she here?

Apparently, Pet’s horrified shock was very obvious, because Haruko immediately held up her hands and said “Hey, I can just travel around like everyone else. Plus, I have multiple jobs here. I hope I’ve not been fired”. She gave an exaggerated sigh. “Man, that would be a bummer”.

Pets gave her a suspicious look. Haruko just continued to try to feign innocence. “Really. I just bought a new wig for my one of my night time jobs impersonating a tutor at a night class. I’ve also had to quickly get a bunch of different outfits. I lost my nurse uniform a while ago. But I can’t be a school nurse without it”. She then pointed at Pets. “These days, you take what work you can get. Sometimes you need to have an extra job or twenty”. She then took a moment to ponder something, then asked “Hey, would you happen to know if anyone is after a cook?”

Pets just gave her a blank look. Haruko then smirked. “Oh, right, you definitely wouldn’t know anything about that. Someone like you wouldn’t know anything about ordinary low end jobs”.

Pets did her best to keep her blank expression. The two of them stared each other down for a moment. Haruko then shrugged her shoulders, her smirk giving way to a small smile. It was obvious from what she said next that she had simply decided to get to the matter that interested her.

“Okay, I’m also here because I noticed some N.O energy around here. After what happened here the last time an N.O portal was opening here, I thought I should check things out”.

Haruko poked Pets forehead. It was still hurting and the poking definitely did not help. Pets flinched from

“I thought it might have something to do with Kana. But it’s just you… uh, Tomomi?”.

“Yes. Tomomi Hetada. Given how much you were stalking us, you could at least remember our names”. Pets glared at Haruko. “And?”

“You’re not that interesting”.

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know that”. Pets said that as flatly as she could. If there was any time to make use of her ability to hide her feelings, it was now. She would not let Haruko toy with her.

Haruko looked faintly amused. “While I’m here, I might as well do the responsible thing. So, what’s the problem?”

“Nothing”. The last person Pets wanted help from was her.

“People don’t open up N.O connections for no reason. It requires a trigger. So, I’ll give you a hand. I like a good fight, but I really don’t feel like it at the moment. So, I’m going to try something different. I have a really innovative idea”. Haruko then took her bag off her shoulder. “Just a second”.

She then proceeded to pull item after item out of the bag. All of them were completely random.

 _How did she fit all of that in a bag that size?_ Then she saw Haruko pull a wig out. _So, she wasn’t lying about that._

Haruko stopped pulling stuff out when she had got to a small whiteboard and a pen. She then spent a few minutes scribbling on the board, which she then proceed to shove in Pet’s face. “Tadda! We’re going to talk things out!”. The board that was being held in front of her face had “Talkin” written on it, along with a bunch of strange scribbles.

Pets didn’t respond at all. She just looked at Haruko with total indifference.

“Yeah, I know. It’s...”. Haruko’s expression fell and she gave a hiss, as though pained by the idea she herself had put forward. “... really boring”. She promptly switched gears, clearly doing her best to seem enthusiastic. “But, as the responsible adult here, I’m willing to try it out. As a gesture to replay Kana for helping with Medical Mechanica...”. She then muttered “.. and to get this boring nuisance out of my hair quickly..” just loud enough for Pets to hear before continuing. “... I’m willing to listen to your stupid teenage problems. Just tell Mrs Haruko what’s bothering you”.

Again, Pets said nothing.

Haruko moved closer and whispered. “Don’t worry, I can keep a secret. If it’s about something really dirty, you can give me all the juicy details”.

Pets felt the blood in her body rush to her face in an instant. “That’s not the problem!”.

“Then tell me what the problem is”.

“There is no problem, apart from you”.

“Stop lying. It’s really annoying. It’s also really stupid. You remember what happened with Kana and her N.O portal, right? Like the part where creatures came out of it, right? This isn’t an ignore it and hope it goes away sort of problem”.

Her head was hurting. More and more. She pulled out her phone in hope of using it to distract herself and ignore Haruko. 

Then Haruko snatched it out of her hands. “Hey, pay attention!”

“Hey, give it back back!”.

“No. Actually, I have an idea”. Haruko started typing rapidly, doing who knows what while Pets tried and failed to grab it out of her hands. She tried again and again, even jumping at Haruko a few times in the hope of tackling her. But Haruko evaded her with ease. Even when she stopped for a moment to take a selfie for some reason and Pets tried to take advantage of that, the result was simply that Haruko knocked her away with a single swipe of her free hand. Pets flew back and landed back on the bench she had been sitting on. Haruko then kept on typing, with Pets able to do nothing but pout. Haruko then threw the phone back to Pets.

Pets put her phone in her pocket and then stood up in an effort to leave. But Haruko was not going to leave her alone. She just kept speaking.

“Anyway, I’m going to be blunt. Very blunt. Your problem is obviously that you’re a habitual liar.

“You’re really terrible at this, Haruko”.

“But your problem is really obvious. There’s no point in pretending otherwise”.

“I don’t have any problems”.

“Wow, I’m impressed. You really said that with a straight face. I wonder if you’re able to do that because you actually believe that or just because you’ve become really good at lying to others”.

“Like you’re one to talk. You spend your time pretending to be all sorts of things”.

“Hey, I’m trying to help you here. I’m not pointing out your flaw just to be an ass. I’m pointing it out because it’s something that’s just going to hurt you and others”.

“It won’t hurt anyone but me if other people just stopped being so nosy. I’d be fine too if people just left things alone. You’re just being annoying!”.

Just like Kana. Thoughts rushed through her head, thoughts of everything they had gone though, of her friendship with Kana, of how her feeling towards the other girl had become darker and darker and more bitter. Those were mixed with her feeling towards her home life. She just wanted to feel okay, to escape from her troubles. Yet her mind was filled with nothing but them now.

Then her migraine suddenly got a lot worse. It suddenly felt as through something was trying to break her skull apart from the inside, like something was trying to rip itself out of her head. She started screaming and dropped to her knees.

“Ahhhh! My head… ah... ah.. ahhhhhhhhh!!”

Her gaze was fixed firmly on the ground, but she had just enough awareness of what was going on around her to hear Haruko say “Whoops, looks like I stressed you out a bit too much. Ah well”. She said it in such a calm manner that Pets would have been furious, if she was not distracted by head splitting pain.

_Oh, god, my head hurts so much!_

Her vision started to blur, but she could still see something appear. Something appeared from… her head? Something was literally coming out of her head.

“What’s happening?”. Then the continuing pain stopped her from trying to figure that out. “Ah…. Ahhhhhh!”

“Wow, you’re noisy. You must be terrible at dealing with injections”. Haruko again gave that remark with the same calm as she did the previous one.

Then whatever it was that was trying to get out of her head got the last of itself out and landed on the ground. In an instant, she felt completely fine.

_How?_

As her mind started trying to get back to a state of normalcy, the answer suddenly became obvious.

_It’s like with Kana. Things came out of her head and she’d be okay immediately after. Well, apart from the monster..._

She immediately looked forward, fearing what had appeared. Fortunately, at least for her, it was not something that appeared to be dangerous. The creature that had somehow crawled out of her head looked like a robotic cat. It had green slime dripping from it and seemed to have some initial trouble standing. It slipped and fell onto it’s belly. It got onto it’s feet and looked at the two of them.

“Wow, that’s really pathetic. I think I might feel bad about what I’m about to do. Just a second”. Haruko took her guitar into her hands, holding it like it was an axe, and raised it to swing down on the creature.

The cat hissed at Haruko. Then, in an instant, it shot off, some of the slime covering it flying off it. Some of it hit Pets and Haruko.

“Hey, get back here!”. Haruko promptly sped off after the robot cat. She took a moment to yell “See you at school, kid!” back at Pets as she ran away.

When Haruko and the robotic creature were gone, Pets instantly knew what she was going to do. She was going to let Haruko handle this. She wanted nothing to do with whatever was happening. So, she was going to just go home, try and get this off her mind and hope she would not encounter Haruko any time soon. She’d prefer never, but she doubted she would be that lucky. Then she remembered something.

_Haruko did something with my phone._

Pets looked at her phone to see what Haruko had done. It turned out that Haruko had been talking to some person through messages. There was an entire conversation here. Pets read through it, hoping it was not too awful.

 **Eri Ninamori** : Who is this?  
 **Tomomi Hetada:** Haruko Haruhara. Hey there, cat in the hat. It’s been a long time. It has, right? I’m actually not sure about that. I’m still getting used to Earth years again.  
 **Eri Ninamori:** What? Whoever this is, I’m blocking you.  
 **Tomomi Hetada** : Just try it.

There was a delay after that.

 **Eri Ninamori:** How do I know it’s you?

Then a photo had been sent to this person. That explained why Haruko had taken a photo of herself.

 **Eri Ninamori:** So it’s really you. Why are you contacting me?  
 **Tomomi Hetada:** I bumped into someone who reminded me a bit of you. I felt like doing a bit of altruism.  
 **Eri Ninamori:** You?  
 **Tomomi Hetada** : Yes, me. Anyway, neither of you can block the other. I was worried about that. It would be annoying if you just blocked each other, so I did a bit of hacking. Earth computer systems are easy to mess with. Now, I’m going to be encouraging the owner of this phone to at least try to talk to you about her problems. To make things easier for the both of us, at least try to take this seriously  
 **Eri Ninamori** : The owner of this phone must be really unfortunate.  
 **Tomomi Hetada:** Yes. Fortunately, I’m around to help.  
 **Eri Ninamori:** Please don’t.  
 **Tomomi Hetada:** Do your part then. If you do what I’m asking for, then I can just leave things to you. Besides, I think you’ll understand her problems very well and not just the N.O portal ones.  
 **Eri Ninamori:** Fine.

After a few minutes from that, this person had sent one last message.

 **Eri Ninamori:** This is for the owner of this phone. I don’t know why Haruko is doing this, but I’ll do what I can to help you. I have a job though, so do keep that in mind. I won’t be able to respond a lot of the time, but I have some experience of dealing with Haruko.

Well, this was great. A monster had crawled out of her head and was wondering around town and Haruko was going to be harassing her to talk to some random adult.

_Because things weren’t already complicated enough._

Pets put her phone away and started walking towards her home. In one day, everything had become a lot worse. All she wanted now was for it end before something else somehow happened to make things even worse.

 

* * *

 

  
A bit of time later, in another part of town, two people were walking down a street. One of them was an excited teen boy. The other was a considerably younger looking girl with long silvery blue hair, tied up into a ponytail with a green bow, and a white dress.

“Hey, Aiko, wasn’t it cool when I helped you handle that scary ride?”

“Yeah”. Tears welled up in her turquoise eyes. “I was so scared! I didn’t know what to do. I thought I was going to die!”. She then smiled at him. “But you were so cool, Koji!”

“Yeah, I was”. The boy smiled brightly. “Hey, could you...”

Aiko glanced at her watch. “Time’s up”. She declared that with a completely different tone, a dry, serious one.

_I’m free to speak like a normal person again._

The boy frowned. “Really?” He then sighed and pulled some cash out of his pocket, handing it to her. She counted it and then put into her purse. “Thanks for your business”

“I love you so much”.

“Right, sure”.

“When can I next see you?”

Aiko pulled out a small book and flicked through it. “I have some slots available next Wednesday”. She then listed the available times. “Would one of those be okay?”

“Oh. I’d.. er.. like to hire you for two slots”. In a panicked voice, he added “I do have the money for that”.

“Fine”.

She added the new appointment to her book. Then, one last time, she forced her voice into the cutesy tone her customers liked. “Bye, Koji!”

As expected, Koji’s face turned red and he gave a stupid smile. “I.. I’ll see you soon,

She then pulled out a random book. “Here’s a gift. I do this to help avoid people getting the wrong impression during these transactions. So, please take this”

The boy took the book. “Thank you?” He was obviously confused. This was the first time had made use of her service. Apparently, whoever had pointed him to her did not mention this part of the proceedings.

She watched as the boy walked away, smiling at him and waving as he did. As soon as he disappeared, her face fell flat.

_Some people are just so gross. Well, they pay well._

Yes, if people were willing to pay for a girl to act as a childish girlfriend, why not make some money from it? She had people treating her this way regardless of what she did. So, she might as well gain what she could out of this. Still, the way some of her customers acted was creepy.

“Meow!”.

Aiko glanced around. She just heard the sound of a cat.

“Mrrrr, meow! Meow!”

That came from the street a bit up ahead and to the right. She walked up to check it out. Dealing with customers always soured her mood a bit, even if it was good money. Petting a cat might help a bit. Then she turned the corner.

_What is that?_

There was some sort of robotic thing in front of her. It looked a bit like a cat. A robotic cat. It was a bizarre sight, this robotic cat creature. It was the source of the meowing.

“Meow, meow!”

It was calling out like a distressed kitten. But it was also possibly dangerous. There was a good chance of that. For her own safety, Aiko felt there was only one thing to do. She tried to carefully back away from it.

_Please don’t react to me. Just don’t do anything._

But the cat reacted almost immediately after she had merely taken a couple of steps back. It spat out some pink slime, hitting her in the face with it.

“Ahhh!”

She staggered back, her hands shooting up to get this unknown substance off her face. It didn’t hurt her. In fact, it seemed to be making her head feel light and relaxed. But it was a random substance spat on her by a robot cat. She needed to get it off fast and hoped that mere exposure to the stuff would not be enough to cause her problems. She quickly got most of it off her face, allowing her to see again.

_Wait, where did it go?_

She blinked. Hadn’t there been some weird creature in front of her? Instead, there was a perfectly normal cat in front of her. Actually, it was a really cute cat. She wanted to take it home and look after it. She should keep it safe. Keep it hidden.

_Keep it hidden? Why am I thinking that about a cat? Wait, why am I thinking about bringing a random cat home? What about that robot cat? Where did it go? What did it just do to me?_

But that chain of thought just seemed to be shoved out of her mind by another.

_I need to help this cat. I need to take it home and look after it._

With that in mind, she picked up the cat. Or tried to.

“You’re a heavy cat for a stray”.

She tried again. She felt compelled to for some reason. Despite it’s odd weight, she managed to pick it it up.

"Right, I’m taking you home".

Hopefully, Dad would be okay with this. She’d wanted a pet in the past and he’d said no. For some reason though, that concern just slid off her mind. He wouldn’t mind. She felt sure of it. She felt absolutely sure of it.


	4. Chapter 4

The plain room that was hers felt oddly comforting after the day Pets had gone through.

_I need to talk about all this with someone. Who though? Who can I talk to?_

Her parents? Definitely not. Just telling them that there was a girl who was interested in her and that she might potentially be interested in girls herself would be something her father would react very poorly to. If she added anything about Haruko, there would likely be consequences for a very long time. Her friends? She still didn’t want to bother Mossan or Hijiri. Maybe at some other time, but not now. She did need to talk to someone and she did have one option.

Pet pulled out her phone and looked at what Haruko had done.

_Why did she do something like this? At least this person didn’t seem like they were angry about this. But I also have to worry about Haruko bothering me and checking up on my conversations._

She wasn’t sure how Haruko would do that. Unfortunately, she’d probably find a way, likely something Pets wouldn’t expect. But this gesture by Haruko might be useful, at least now. Perhaps this person she had been forcibly connected to could help. At a minimum, this woman was a stranger who knew nothing about her. Pets could say a lot, as long as she acted to retain a degree of anonymity. As long as she was careful and cautious about what she shared, then there should be no problem.

She sent this Eri Ninamori a message.

 **Tomomi Hetada:** Is it okay to talk now?

She put her phone down and waited. It was late, so there was a good chance this person would not want to chat with some random stranger at this time. Especially a person they had been introduced to by Haruko. She would be more reluctant herself, if not for everything that had happened. Talking to someone connected to Haruko in some way seemed more appealing when Haruko was part of the problem. Then her phone beeped. Pets put down the book she had started reading. There wasn’t much to do in her room apart from read or study. Not that she had any problems with reading, but it would be nice if there was more. But her father would not approve. In fact, the books she had were limited to what he father would approve of. Checking her phone she saw that Eri had responded.

 **Eri Ninamori:** We can. What do you want to talk about?

Pets was unsure how to start. After thinking for a minute, she settled for something simple.

 **Tomomi Hetada:** There are two things. One is odd and the other is personal.  
**Eri Ninamori:** Let me guess, the first is about Haruko and the second one is about teenage problems.

It was a bit embarrassing to see her problems be described that way, as just teenage problems, but Ninamori wasn’t wrong, at least in regards to what Pets wanted to talk about. She doubted something like her father was a simple teenage problem.

 **Tomomi Hetada** : Yes. How did you guess the second one?  
**Eri Ninamori:** Haruko tends to pester teenagers. They seem to be the ones who have a lot of the really weird stuff that attracts her happen to them, usually when they also are dealing with their own problems.  
**Tomomi Hetada:** She mentioned something about N.O energy and N.O portals. Apparently, they can be tied to emotional problems  
**Eri Ninamori:** Huh, I never talked about any of this with Haruko, so a lot of what I know is from observation. So, what’s going on at your end? Hopefully, nothing too major. I don’t want to deal with the world nearly ending again.

Hmm, what had this Eri Ninamori observed? Given it involved Haruko, it was probably something weird. Actually, knowing about Eri raised another matter. How many people were there out there who had dealt with Haruko or this N.O portal stuff? There was Eri, but where there others? How many? How long had this been going on for?

Pets put that line of thought aside for another time and sent a reply.

 **Tomomi Hetada:** I have an N.O portal in my head.  
**Eri Ninamori:** Ah, that. How did you find out about that?  
**Tomomi Hetada:** Some robot cat thing came out of my head. I don’t know where it is now. Haruko went after it.  
**Eri Ninamori:** What made it open up?  
**Tomomi Hetada:** We were talking about my problems.  
**Eri Ninamori:** Really? That was enough to open an N.O portal?  
**Tomomi Hetada** : Apparently.  
**Eri Ninamori:** So, what’s bothering you? Well, apart from Haruko.  
**Tomomi Hetada:** There’s a person I know. We were friends. Apparently, she loves me.

There was more, but Pets would just focus on the problem most of her mind and the one with some chance of being solved. That was the problem of her former best friend.

 **Eri Ninamori:** How do you feel about that?  
**Tomomi Hetada:** I don’t know. The last time we met, we argued and I said some horrible things to her.  
**Eri Ninamori:** What did you say?  
**Tomomi Hetada:** I told her that she was a bad friend and I couldn’t even recall why I had become friends with her in the first place.

Ninamori seemed to take a while to respond to that. Pets looked nervously at her phone, wondering what this person was thinking of her. Even though Pets still felt she was right, she still felt bad about it. Even if she felt what she said was true, Pets had been lashing out at Kana while she had been trying to save Pets.

She put her phone down, left her room and went to get a drink of water from the kitchen. After she returned to her room, she saw that Ninamori had replied.

 **Eri Ninamori** : Wow. How did she take that?

She had expected something worse. She let out a sigh of relief and then typed a response.

 **Tomomi Hetada** : I hurt her a lot with what I said. I was told so by a mutual friend. I don’t know more than that.  
**Eri Ninamori** : Do you think she’s interested in talking to you?  
**Tomomi Hetada** : I don’t know.  
**Eri Ninamori** : Then you need to find that out. Also, you need to figure out your own feelings. Let’s say she did talk to you and she said she still loves you. What then? How would you feel about that?

Pets didn’t know. Being interested in girls? Was that something she was open to? Maybe?

 **Tomomi Hetada** : It’s possible that I could like girls in that way. I guess it would explain some things. I’ve never thought about whether I could love a girl like that until very recently. I don’t think my parents could even accept me liking girls.  
**Eri Ninamori** : Why do you feel that?  
**Tomomi Hetada** : My father is very traditional and he likes to have things a certain way. Everyone here knows that and does what he wants. To be honest, I think my mum is a bit scared of him. I am too at times.

That was something she would never admit to any of the people she knew. But this conversation had an amount of secrecy that allowed for Pets to say that which she kept firmly to herself.  
  
**Eri Ninamori** : I wish I could help you out. In regards to figuring out your feelings, you’re a teenager. You have plenty of time to figure things. That’s all I can say, along with one more thing. Don’t let yourself get swallowed up by expectations. I made that mistake when I was your age. My parents had their own issues and I ended up with a lot of expectations on me. I lied to myself a lot at that time. It was really unhealthy and it did not end well.

Pets felt some sympathy for Ninamori. Assuming she wasn’t lying for some reason, it seemed like she had done through something similar to her. This sort of thing, her problems with her parents her father in particular, and his expectations, were something Pets wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

 **Tomomi Hetada** : Thank you.  
**Eri Ninamori:** No problem.

 

* * *

 

 

“So, where are we going?”. Pets grumbled that out, a bit annoyed that Mossan had asked to meet her the day after they had last met. It was not that they were meeting again that was the problem. Given all the bizarre stuff with Haruko that had happened later that day, it was nice to have things return t normal. Her problem was that Mossan had, after meeting up with her, decided to take her somewhere and had moved at such a pace that Pets had not had the chance to ask where they were going until now.

Mossan had slowed down her pace. She turned briefly to say “Just to meet up with Hijiri”, then faced forward again. It had been a while since Pets had seen Hijiri. This would be the first time since she had returned to Earth. But she was still feeling stressed, something that was hardly new. So she took out one of her ways of dealing with it, a cigarette. Hardly a smart choice, but it was something she did and would likely continue to do. Mossan noticed this.

“So you’re still smoking”.

“Yes”. Pets let out a puff of smoke. “It helps with stress”.

“Hmm”. Mossan clearly didn’t agree, but decided not to push the matter. “Remember, I’m always around if you want to talk”.

“I know. Thanks”.

“Just actually share with me. That’s the best sort of thanks, knowing I’m actually helping you”.

Pets knew that. It was something she was really bad at. _Well, maybe after we’ve met with Hijiri. Maybe I’ll try. There are some things I should probably warn the both of them about anyway._

They reached a spot and Mossan suddenly stopped. “We just need to wait here”. So they did exactly that. It was not long until Pets heard a cry of “Hey, Mossan, Pets!”. It was Hijiri and Pets looked to see the black haired girl, the aspiring model who looked as great as ever after everything, approaching them. Then Pets noticed who was with Hijiri. It was Kana and she didn’t seem at all surprised to see Pets.

“Huh? Why is she here?”

“Because I asked her to be here”

“What?”

“Look, it’s clear neither of you will make any progress on this mess of a situation without a push. So, I’m pushing you”.

It made sense. Still, Pets was angry about this. All she could do though was silently fume as the two other girls approached them. Then Kana and Hijiri reached them, Pets unable to look at Kana directly. Kana seemed nervous, but more certain of herself than Pets was.

“Hi Pets”.

“Hi”.

“So, it’s been a while”. Kana paused for a moment. “Umm, Mossan has told you everything, right?”

“Yes”.

Kana nodded and turned to face Mossan. “Thanks for doing that”.

“You’re welcome”. Mossan gave her a thumbs up. Kana turned back towards Pets, looking right at her with a determined expression. “So, here is what I need to tell you. I still love you. I love you very much”.

She paused for a moment, likely to give Pets a chance to respond to her declaration. But Pets couldn’t respond.

_I have no idea how to._

Seeing that Pets wasn’t going to say anything, Kana carried on. “I don’t how if you’ll ever feel the same. In fact, I’m not expecting anything. I mean, I remember what you said the last time we met”. Kana, for a moment, hesitated. But she seemed to stiffen her resolve and continued saying what she seemed to need to say. “I was a bad friend and I’m really sorry for that. Even if my loving you makes things awkward, I still want to try and make up for everything, to try and be a better friend. I’m going to make things right, Pets, and I’m going to do it because that’s what you deserve. I’m not going to push you you into anything or force myself into things going on in your life, but I’m still going to do what I can for you as a friend”.

Pets was a bit stunned. Kana still had her stubbornness, but she had clearly grown since they had last seen each other. She even seemed to understand her faults better and was trying to be the sort of best friend she wanted to be. This was overwhelming. Pets had already been dealing with mental turmoil, but this made things worse. It was not that Kana had done anything bad, hardly anything like that. Instead, it was that there was so much to deal with that Pets was completely unprepared for. Kana apologising to her, making a declaration like that. The hardest part was what Kana had started with.

_She loves me._

“Kana.. I...”.

Pets needed time to think. Her thoughts and feelings were a mess. Then she had an idea of how to divert the conversation away from her and Kana’s issues. The events of yesterday might now be useful.

“There’s something I should tell you all. Haruko’s back”.

Kana, Mossan and Hijiri all looked like Pets had stuffed a ton of lemons into their mouths and forced them to chew on them. But she wasn’t done. “Also, some sort of robot cat crawled out of my head and might be roaming around town. Haruko went after it, but I don’t know if she destroyed it or not”.

The three girls groaned, their expressions of sheer exasperation worsening. It looked like they had been distracted nicely. Then they glared at Pets.

“What did I do?”.

Kana was the one to voice their issue. “Stop smirking”.

Pets forced herself to stop smiling, a hard task given her feelings of satisfaction. “Sorry”.

“Sure you are”.


End file.
